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  #46  
Old 05-20-2013, 12:21 PM
dablues dablues is offline
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Originally Posted by jlipoth View Post
I'm not expecting any miracles, I just want to make my cheap guitar better. If there was a $300 round shoulder guitar with a bone saddle, better bridge pins, etc. in the guitar store I would have bought it. Instead, there was a $200 guitar available and I thought it sounded decent enough to buy and upgrade. Understand that wood, design AND removable pieces all make up the price of a guitar. I bet the biggest difference between a $200 and a $300 guitar isn't the wood or even the design....its the hardware Pieces installed...

I'm guessing the biggest difference between a $200 guitar and a $300 guitar is a laminate top vs. a solid spruce top (a difference one can actually hear).

But hey, its your guitar, your money...good luck!
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  #47  
Old 05-20-2013, 01:43 PM
jlipoth jlipoth is offline
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Originally Posted by dablues View Post
Yes expensive guitars usually do have bone nuts/saddles, etc but you're suggesting that he spend almost as much on upgrades as the guitar is worth! I don't understand your logic. Would you tell somebody to go out and buy a $900 set of tires to put on their $2000 car?

The OP stated that his goal was to get a "certain type of Gibson sound" that he says he has heard on higher end guitars. If you believe that putting a bone saddle and bridgepins on an all-laminate guitar would help him achieve that goal then so be it but I respectfully disagree.....

....I'm guessing the biggest difference between a $200 guitar and a $300 guitar is a laminate top vs. a solid spruce top (a difference one can actually hear).

But hey, its your guitar, your money...good luck!

First of all the AJ220s IS a solid top guitar. One of the main ways they get it down to $200 is by "cheaping" out on removable components (even more so than other guitars). Second of all, a bone saddle costs $8-$30, and bridge pins cost $8-$30.

As for the car comparison, I think it is a tough sell....guitars are for enjoyment. If it costs $16-$60 (or even $90) to make your $200 guitar more enjoyable, would you really have been better off to get get a $300 guitar instead? Can you guarantee that you would enjoy or like the $300 guitar more? What if you just like the sound of bone saddles? Does it make sense to only buy guitars that come with bones saddles?

Here is a sample of the difference between a bone saddle and a tusq saddle:
http://youtu.be/zI8c3cxThfM

Listen to it with a good set of speakers or headphones. If you can't hear a difference, then you would probably be just as well off to buy a $200 guitar and leave it....

I like the sound of the higher end Gibson's but I would rather have something that is hardier in respect to the elements durability etc. Again, I consider the trade off in tone worthwhile, but if a bone saddle gets the sound a bit closer, I can't see how anyone would consider the $8 that I spent a waste of money.
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  #48  
Old 05-20-2013, 02:50 PM
mustache79 mustache79 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dablues View Post
Yes expensive guitars usually do have bone nuts/saddles, etc but you're suggesting that he spend almost as much on upgrades as the guitar is worth! I don't understand your logic. Would you tell somebody to go out and buy a $900 set of tires to put on their $2000 car?

The OP stated that his goal was to get a "certain type of Gibson sound" that he says he has heard on higher end guitars. If you believe that putting a bone saddle and bridgepins on an all-laminate guitar would help him achieve that goal then so be it but I respectfully disagree.
I actually stated: "I don't believe the OP thinks his guitar will magically turn into a D28 by putting some work into it." So, no I'm not saying he will "achieve that goal." But the guitar will likely sound better and stay in tune better, if he gets tuning machines and does some work on the nut. Those little welding tip files a linked in a previous post helped me smooth out nut slots on all my instruments.

Who cares how much he paid for the guitar, he wants to put upgrades on it and he's asking for advice on that. He's not asking if he should, that's his choice and by his replies it's clear he wants to do it.

I'm going to put a recording together and start a new thread regarding my $99 Alvarez solid top after my $87 worth of upgrades. I think many people will be taken back by how well this guitar sounds. You can only take my word for how it plays, stays in tune, and that it didn't sound as good before I replaced the pins, saddle, and nut.
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  #49  
Old 05-20-2013, 07:06 PM
delaorden9 delaorden9 is offline
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I own a Epiphone DR100, much cheaper than yours....I like it very much, sounds very nice. If someone wants to hear I'll link it. I just made some adjustments (tries and outs) with the truss rod and replaced the saddle and pins for bone ones. Perfect.
My only advantage is that I have never thought or meant to make it sound like another guitar. It sounds just like itself, and I love it.
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